In the cavern, there was also an open coffin.
Bai Shi found a pile of ashes inside.
Next to the ashes was a Twin Sorcerer Glintstone Crown, which likely belonged to the ashes' owner in life.
After scooping the ashes into the sorcerer's own crown, Bai Shi left them there for the time being, planning to come back for them after exploring the rest of the catacombs.
He would put this fellow with Battlemage Hugues later.
They were both sorcerers, and both used their own crowns to hold their ashes. They would surely get along well.
On the tree root that had fused with countless corpses, Bai Shi also found a Deathroot entwined with black thorns of death.
This Deathroot was quite large, a full two sizes bigger than the one left behind by the Tibia Mariner.
A normal Deathroot was about the size of an apple, but this one was as large as a pomelo.
The eyes of the dead had already grown extensively along the root, which was covered in black spots and thorns. It seemed this Deathroot had been here for a long time.Bai Shi used his Mantis Glaive to chop this Deathroot off.
Then, he used the Holy Law to seal it completely.
Bai Shi also left the Deathroot where it was, intending to retrieve it after finishing his exploration.
Bai Shi retraced his steps out of the cavern and followed another path downward.
Strangely, even though the Deathroot had been sealed, Those Who Live in Death continued to rise throughout the catacombs.
This was different from any situation Bai Shi had encountered before.
Bai Shi considered that perhaps the undead he had met previously were all summoned by Tibia Mariners, which was why they vanished after the mariners were eliminated.
But that didn't seem quite right either.
Those Who Live in Death relied on the aura of death to remain active. Without its support, they would immediately crumble into dry bones.
But with the Deathroot sealed, the aura of death should no longer be leaking out. It was impossible for them to still be moving.
Furthermore, after Bai Shi used the Death-correcting Holy Law, these undead creatures would take damage but would still get back up again.
They even held their swords over their heads, which spun like helicopter rotors and carried them toward Bai Shi. The motion was rather comical.
With a slight sidestep, Bai Shi let them crash into the wall and fall.
Bai Shi suddenly noticed that some of the resident corpses in the catacombs were holding Ghostflame torch-poles.
Torch-poles were common equipment for sentries in the Lands Between, often used while standing guard.
But this seemed to be the first time he had seen a Ghostflame torch-pole, and the Ghostflame on it seemed a bit different.
To confirm his suspicion, Bai Shi summoned a storm to extinguish all the other nearby flames, even cutting off the magic sustaining the starlight above his own head.
Now, the dim catacombs were lit only by the light of that single Ghostflame torch-pole.
Bai Shi shattered the approaching undead as he drew closer, stepping into the radius of the Ghostflame's light.
As he suspected, the Ghostflame was indeed different.
Bathed in its light, Bai Shi felt as if he had entered another world.
This seemed to be the power of an ancient law, one that protected death itself.
It was likely because of this Ghostflame that Those Who Live in Death retained the aura of death upon them.
It even nullified the Holy Law's purifying effect on the undead.
The Holy Law now only dealt ordinary damage to them, no longer purging the aura of death.
Because in this domain, death was no longer wrong, and the Holy Law had no authority to correct it.
This was probably the power of the ancient god of death that the Death Rite Birds served.
Bai Shi released his starlight once more, illuminating the area.
After extinguishing the Ghostflame torch-pole held by the corpse, Those Who Live in Death were once again affected by the absence of the Deathroot and collapsed to the ground.
Dealing with the undead became much easier after that. All Bai Shi had to do was extinguish the Ghostflame to clear out an area.
In a corner of the catacombs, Bai Shi found a room sealed by an imp statue, which required a Stonesword Key to open.
Bai Shi inserted a Stonesword Key without a second thought.
He had a large stock of them from the storeroom in Stormveil Castle, so there was no need to be frugal.
As soon as the room opened, the few undead inside were affected by the sealed Deathroot and fell apart into piles of bone, saving Bai Shi the trouble of dealing with them.
Inside this room was Rosus' Axe.
Rosus was a "Guide of Death," a figure of special status.
However, the axe didn't seem very practical.
Bai Shi put it away, to be added to his collection later.
This catacomb wasn't large, and Bai Shi soon reached its end.
Here lay a massive room, even larger than the previous boss's cavern.
In this room, three enormous guillotine traps operated ceaselessly.
The heavy blades were slowly raised and then dropped from the top, crashing down with immense force.
The dull thud of their impact left no doubt as to their power; even a dragon would be easily decapitated by these blades.
There were also a good number of undead archers here.
They would surely try to hinder whatever he planned to do.
Bai Shi first stirred up a storm, blowing out all the Ghostflame torch-poles in the area.
Without the illumination of the Ghostflame, the aura of death left the skeletons, and they returned to being scattered white bones on the ground.
With no interference, Bai Shi stopped to observe the massive guillotines, which were continuously rising and falling by a mechanical contraption.
If Bai Shi remembered correctly, he could use the back of a guillotine blade to get up to the second floor.
Then he just had to open a hidden wall to find the Black Knife Assassin hiding there.
Bai Shi scanned the room and, sure enough, found the entrance to the second floor between the second and third guillotines.
Standing below the passage, Bai Shi decided against using the guillotine blades.
Gathering a storm around himself and leveraging his own physical prowess, he leaped directly to the second floor in a single bound.
It was a corridor, lined neatly on both sides with statues of Erdtree Burial Watchdogs.
After landing, Bai Shi shook his head.
He laughed at the Black Knife Assassin's foolishness.
If you're going to set up a hidden wall, why not put one at the entrance to this corridor?
Had she done that, her hiding place would have been impossible to find.
This second floor had an L-shaped layout. It was not a large space and contained only a few of Those Who Live in Death.
Bai Shi extinguished the Ghostflames along the way and reached the very end unhindered.
Here was a solid wall, seemingly a dead end.
However, Bai Shi knew this was the location of the hidden wall.
Bai Shi thought for a moment and decided not to cast Carian Phalanx first.
If communication was possible, there was no need for a fight.
Casting Carian Phalanx would be like bringing a gun to the negotiating table; the other party wouldn't think he was there to talk.
Bai Shi tapped the wall with his Mantis Glaive. The illusory barrier instantly shattered, revealing a small room.
Inside the room, a Black Knife Assassin resting against the wall looked up blankly, her eyes meeting Bai Shi's.
Melina, who was beside Bai Shi, froze when she saw the Black Knife Assassin.
Bai Shi met her gaze and was about to say something, but the assassin had already shot up from the ground.
The Black Knife Assassin lowered her body and rushed at Bai Shi, almost skimming the ground as she flew toward him.
The black knife in her hand was not imbued with the red of Destined Death, likely because she didn't want to reveal her hand just yet.
The tip of the black knife aimed straight for Bai Shi's chest in a sudden thrust.
"Wait, I'm not your enemy!"
Bai Shi still wanted to talk, but the Black Knife Assassin showed no signs of stopping.
Bai Shi raised his Mantis Glaive, precisely blocking the incoming thrust.
However, the Black Knife Assassin used their clashing weapons as a pivot, leaping high over Bai Shi's head. Bai Shi immediately turned, wary of a possible attack from behind.
But when Bai Shi turned, he saw the Black Knife Assassin's back as she fled, clean and without a moment's hesitation.
Bai Shi was stunned for a moment.
Weren't they in a fight?
Realizing he couldn't let her get away, Bai Shi quickly gave chase.
As he ran, Bai Shi didn't forget to shout:
"Wait, don't run!"
"I don't mean you any harm!"
The Black Knife Assassin didn't look back, focusing only on running forward.
She didn't believe for a second this man was a good person.
Few people would come to such a remote catacomb, let alone find the second floor with a hidden wall.
This man's equipment and skills were impressive; he had to be an experienced tomb robber.
Taking down such an opponent would not be quick, especially since she was injured.
She had no time to get entangled with him now. If he had accomplices, it would be a disaster.
Once she got out of the catacombs, she would ambush him at the entrance and silence him.
Since the Night of the Black Knives, they had to hide with the utmost care, leaving no trace behind.
They couldn't even allow themselves to die.
A corpse held information, especially with the black knives they carried.
The traces of the ritual that once infused the Rune of Death could never be erased.
No matter what, they had to live to conceal the truth of that cold, dark night.
As long as she escaped and silenced the tomb robber behind her, she could find a new place to hide.
But the footsteps behind her grew closer, as did that annoying voice.
He was still jabbering on about how he meant no harm. If he meant no harm, he should stop chasing her relentlessly!
Bai Shi was very fast, and after a short pursuit, he was already quite close to the Black Knife Assassin.
Timing it perfectly, Bai Shi reached out and grabbed her arm.
But the Black Knife Assassin deftly kicked off the wall, spun around in mid-air.
The hand he had caught reversed its grip, locking onto Bai Shi's wrist and actively pulling her body toward him. The black knife in her other hand took the opportunity to stab at his neck.
A terrifying killing intent locked onto Bai Shi, so intense that it sent a chill down his spine.
But in the end, she failed to land the blow.
Bai Shi, casting aside any gentlemanly notions, grabbed the assassin's arm and swung her into the wall like a hammer.
With no purchase in mid-air, the Black Knife Assassin judged that she could no longer harm Bai Shi and was forced to abandon her attack.
If she let herself be thrown against the wall while he held her arm, her arm might be torn from her body.
She pulled herself as close to Bai Shi as possible, clamping her legs around his torso to stabilize her body and curling up to lessen the impact.
Bai Shi had no time to register the feel of the assassin's soft body. He ruthlessly slammed her into the wall. In a life-or-death battle, how could he be distracted by such a trivial matter?
The Black Knife Assassin's back slammed heavily into the wall, cracking it in several places and breaking her control over Bai Shi's body.
Normally, such an injury would be nothing; the wall was far more fragile than her body.
But she was already wounded. Although she had used a protective technique to mitigate the damage, the impact still caused her to spit blood.
Her grip on his wrist and her legs wrapped around his torso all came loose.
She leaped up from the ground and jumped back several times to create distance.
In her previous position, she could have immediately stabbed Bai Shi's arm with her black knife after the attack ended.
Or she could have used her legs clamped on his torso to press her advantage and plunge the knife into his neck.
But since she had failed to seize the opportunity, there was nothing to be done.
She glanced around. Due to the recent attack, their positions had been reversed.
Bai Shi was now blocking the way to the exit.
It seemed she had only one option left.
A red-and-black flame ignited on her black knife.
She had to eliminate Bai Shi right now.
Bai Shi's brow furrowed. This Black Knife Assassin seemed to be getting serious.
If she wouldn't listen, he would just have to beat her until she would.
He wondered if he could take her down without getting hit by Destined Death.
But it looked like she was injured, and perhaps quite badly. There should be a chance.
Bai Shi drew his two Mantis Glaives, watching the Black Knife Assassin's next move.
But the Black Knife Assassin's figure vanished right before his eyes.
However, the piles of skeletons on the ground now helped Bai Shi.
There were too many skeletons on the floor; no matter how careful she was, her movements would disturb them.
Bai Shi raised his foot and stomped down hard.
The floor tiles were blasted upward by his magic, forcing the Black Knife Assassin to reveal her position.
At the same time, a storm blew forward, helping Bai Shi locate her.
Yet, the Black Knife Assassin seemed to have disappeared entirely. There was no sound of a landing, and the storm didn't touch her.
A projectile of red-and-black energy materialized out of thin air and shot toward Bai Shi.
Bai Shi followed the direction of the attack and saw that it came from the ceiling.
He leaped sideways, barely dodging the Destined Death attack.
But it was immediately followed by a second, and then a third.
This wouldn't do. Bai Shi unleashed all his remaining magic power.
Couldn't find her? It didn't matter.
A storm that filled the entire room had no need to find a specific location.
Hopefully, she would survive this blow.
If she did, Bai Shi could heal her with his flask.
If she died, then there was nothing for it but to take her black knife and her Black Knife Imprint.
Though he wanted to capture her alive, now was not the time to hold back.
A violent storm swept through the entire room and corridor, then began to converge inward, consuming the space bit by bit.
The storm ground the skeletons to dust and peeled the walls away layer by layer, revealing the rock of the mountain beneath.
Bai Shi didn't let his guard down, immediately drinking a Flask of Cerulean Tears.
As his magic power gradually replenished, he maintained the first storm while wrapping a second storm around it.
Within seconds, a mist of blood began to appear in the inner storm.
Inside the storm, the Black Knife Assassin was unable to use Destined Death.
If she dared to try, the storm would surely burn her before Destined Death could even pierce through it.
Bai Shi watched silently. When the struggling within weakened significantly, he let it continue for a few more seconds before stopping the storm.
In the middle of the room, the Black Knife Assassin had been mangled by the storm, and she lay collapsed on the ground, covered in blood.
Her clothes were shredded, and her metal armor was in tatters, barely covering her body.
Bai Shi didn't approach hastily; her prone position could be a feint, waiting for a chance to counterattack.
Time ticked by, and Bai Shi finally walked over.
He couldn't be certain that the Black Knife Assassin had lost her ability to resist.
But he felt that if he didn't go and save her now, she would probably die for real.